I am an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow (NSF: 1812201) working on developing computational methods to to identify and classify high-information and low-information subsets of phylogenomics data. This type of information can be used to increase signal-to-noise ratios, reduce computational burdens for large analyses, and gain a stronger overall understanding around how genomes, and their host species, have and continue to evolve.

I am also very interested in developing collaborative strategies to create inclusive student recruitment/retention plans to reinforce two main ideas:

  1. Having solid computational skills benefits all students, regardless of their specific research interests or majors.

  2. A diverse pool of computationally-savvy students can help to facilitate a continuation of that diversity into the future, wherever those students choose to take their talents.

Publications

Years are clickable DOI Links

Radhakrishnan, S., Literman, R., Neuwald, J.L., and Valenzuela,N. (In Press) Thermal response of epigenetic genes informs turtle sex determination with and without sex chromosomes. Sexual Development

Robert Literman, A. Burrett, B. Bista & Valenzuela, N. (2018) Putative independent evolutionary reversals from genotypic to temperature-dependent sex determination are associated with accelerated evolution of sex-determining genes in turtles. J Mol.Evol

Radhakrishnan, S., Literman, R., Mizoguchi, B., & Valenzuela, N. (2017). meDIP-seq and nCpG analyses illuminate sexually dimorphic methylation of gonadal development genes with high historic methylation in turtle hatchlings with temperature-dependent sex -determination. Epigenetics & Chromatin

Robert Literman, S. Radhakrishnan, J. Tamplin, R. Burke, C. Dresser & N. Valenzuela (2017) “Development of sexing primers in Glyptemys insculpta and Apalone spinifera turtles uncovers an XX/XY sex-determining system in the critically-endangered bog turtle Glyptemys muhlenbergii.“ Conservation Genetics Resources

Radhakrishnan, S., Literman, R., Neuwald, J., Severin, A., Valenzuela, N. (2017) “Transcriptomic responses to environmental temperature by turtles with temperature-dependent and genotypic sex determination assessed by RNAseq inform the genetic architecture of embryonic gonadal development”. PLOS ONE

Twyman, H., Valenzuela, N., Literman, R., Andersson, S., & Mundy, N. I. (2016). “Seeing red to being red: conserved genetic mechanism for red cone oil droplets and co-option for red coloration in birds and turtles”. Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Montiel, E. E., Badenhorst, D., Lee L.S., Literman, R., Trifonov, V., Valenzuela, N. (2016). “Cytogenetic insights into the evolution of chromosomes and sex determination reveal striking homology of turtle sex chromosomes to amphibian autosomes”. Cytogenetic and Genome Research

Badenhorst, D., Hillier, L.W., Literman, R., Seven Others, Valenzuela, N. (2015). “Physical mapping and refinement of the painted turtle genome (Chrysemys picta) inform amniote genome evolution and challenge turtle-bird chromosomal conservation”. Genome Biology and Evolution

Janes, D. E, Seven Others, Literman, R., Six Others. (2014). “Molecular evolution of Dmrt1 accompanies change of sex-determining mechanisms in Reptilia”. Biology Letters

Literman, R., Badenhorst, D., & Valenzuela, N. (2014). “qPCR‐based molecular sexing by copy number variation in rRNA genes and its utility for sex identification in soft‐shell turtles”. Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Valenzuela, N., Badenhorst, D., Montiel, E. E., & Literman, R. (2014). “Molecular cytogenetic search for cryptic sex chromosomes in painted turtles Chrysemys picta”. Cytogenetic and Genome Research

Shaffer, H. Bradley, et al. (2013) “The western painted turtle genome, a model for the evolution of extreme physiological adaptations in a slowly evolving lineage.“ Genome Biology

Valenzuela, N., Neuwald, J. L., & Literman, R. (2013). “Transcriptional evolution underlying vertebrate sexual development”. Developmental Dynamics

Zhang, W., Ahluwalia, I. P., Literman, R., Kaplan, D. L., & Yelick, P. C. (2011). “Human dental pulp progenitor cell behavior on aqueous and hexafluoroisopropanol based silk scaffolds”. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A